Thursday, October 30, 2008

A Look At food Allergy Testing

By Lindelwa Maseko

Allergies are the result of a person's body having hypersensitivity which could be to something that is drunk, ate, or applied to the body, even something in the air around us. An allergen could be anything under the sun that might cause a reaction in one's body if the body disagrees with that substance and even a common thing such as sunlight and air might cause severe reactions in some if the skin is susceptible to allergies due to the same.

Many people suffer from food allergies and although most of these individuals do not have very severe reactions, some might find instant severe reaction to some foods; the most common foods that cause allergies in people are nuts and in particular, peanuts. This allergic reaction to food extends even further with everyday products such as soy, rice and milk also causing problems but these are just the better known substances.

Food allergies can cause an allergic reaction very quickly in the victim as they affect the body's immune system, but breathing in particular is the biggest problem with a few people actually allergic to chocolate. Fish and other types of seafood can also have an adverse effect and some people put themselves at risk knowing they have a allergy but enjoy the food so much they still eat it.

Food allergies often cause reactions which are seen initially as redness, itchy areas of skin and other irritations often quite common to the family of citrus fruits. Reactions to peanuts can be life threatening and warnings are placed on almost every food product if peanuts or their oil is used in the manufacture and is the most useful of all allergies to take as reactions happen very quickly.

Although flowers are beautiful, even these can prove harmful to those individuals susceptible to their pollen, causing respiratory problems and even damage to the airways. This is another situation where allergy testing is advised because although the flowers may be removed from the room or premises it still needs to be proved that the flowers are responsible for the allergy.

, which are some of the well noticed symptoms but some drugs might cause internal allergies that take some time to detect and cure. As far as drugs are concerned it is normally the ingredient sulfur that causes the allergic reaction so this must be considered before and further drugs are given.

Another common allergy is caused by metal and many individuals are allergic to nickel, even gold and silver can cause reactions in some people although only in a very small percentage, but metals can lead to skin allergies. Generally, the reactions to metal are contact based and usually cause distinctive skin conditions like rashes, swollen skin around the affected area and a change in skin color to red or a purple.

The same piece of advice applies to all allergies; stay away from them and in the case of food, do not eat something that cause you a problem as allergies can be serious enough to kill.

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